Dennis Kunkel Microscopy / Science Photo Library
Some evidence has linked headache prevalence to increasing latitude, indicating a possible role for vitamin D exposure. But there are limited data to support this hypothesis.
Therefore a team of researchers analysed baseline data on 2,601 men who enrolled in a Finnish heart disease study between 1984 and 1989.
They found that the mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 38.3nmol/L among the 250 (9.6%) men who reported frequent headache (weekly or daily in the previous year), compared with 43.9nmol/L in the rest of the cohort. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the lowest quartile (<28.9nmol/L) was associated with a 116% increased odds of frequent headache versus the highest quartile (>55.0nmol/L).
Writing in Scientific Reports
[1]
(online, 3 January 2017), the team says that further research should explore whether vitamin D supplementation could be effective for the treatment or prevention of headaches.
References
[1] Virtanen JK, Giniatullin R, Mäntyselkä P et al. Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is associated with higher risk of frequent headache in middle-aged and older men. Scientific Reports 2017;7:39697; doi: 10.1038/srep39697
